Art of knitting stockings



(No Model.) 2 sheets-Sheet 2.

3.0. .OOVELL & E. s. ORAM.

ART OF KNITTING STOCKINGS.

No. 443,900. Patented Dec. 30, 1890.

"m: Nonms PETERS ca, uumrmo WASHINGTON n c UNITED STATES 4 ATENT Criics.

EDGAR C. CO'VELL AND ELISIIA S. CRAM, OF LACONIA, NESY HAMPSHIRE.

ART OF KNITTING STOCKINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,900, dated December30, 1890.

Application filed March 27,1890. Serial No. 345,550. (No model) To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDGAR O. COVELL and ELISHA S. CRAM, of Laconia,inthe county of Belknap and State of New Hampshire, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in the Art of Knitting Stockings, of whichthe following is a specification.

Our invention has for its object the production of such improvements inthe mode of knitting stockings as will permit of the same beingmanufactured more expeditiously and economically than heretofore, andwhereby at the same time they may be made to fit the foot and leg of thewearer and have certain portions which are subjected to the greatestwear made of greater strength than the remaining portions. 1

Our invention consists of the improvement in the art of knittingstockings on springbeard-needle knitting-machines embracing thefollowing steps or acts: knitting the foot and lower leg or ankleportion with the stitchwheel positioned to knita comparatively close orshort stitch, then moving the stitch-wheel to knit the upper portion ofthe leg with a comparatively loose or long stitch, forming the heel ofan independent web, and insertingthe same in or uniting it to a foot andleg constructed as aforesaid, as will be more fully describedhereinafter.

The invention also consists in a mode of procedure which includes, inaddition to the hereinbefore-recited steps, first, picking upon theneedles a previously-formed seamless and shaped or fashioned toe-piece,and forming an independent seamless and fashioned or shaped heel-piece,which is inserted in the stocking, the other portions of which areformed as described in the foregoing paragraph.

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, and then be pointed outin the appended claims.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a stocking knit inaccordance with our improvements, as the same will appear after beingcast from the machine. Fig. 2 is a similar view, the toe and a portionof the foot being represented as broken off, showing a step which may beperformed after the knitting of the stocking is completed. Fig. 0 viewof the completed stocking.

The same letters of reference designate the same parts in all of theviews.

Our invention may be practiced on anycircular spring-beard-needleknitting-machine in which the stitch-wheel is made adjustable, so as toform longer or shorter-stitches, and as such means are common and theirstructure and manner of use are generally understood by all knittingartisans they need not be shown herein.

In the practice of our improved mode we may proceed by taking a seamlessand fashioned or shaped toe-piece a and pick a course of stitches b ator near the edge thereof upon the needles of the machine, and then, withthe stitch-wheel so positioned as to knit a close stitch, we knit thefoot portion 0 to the line where the heel is to be formed, when we takea previously-formed seamless and shaped or fashioned heel-piece d andpick a course of stitches e on or near the upper edge thereof upon theneedles at the proper point, and continue the knitting of the stockingwith the stitch-wheel positioned so as to knit a close stitch until theankle or lower-leg portion f of the stocking is formed, when we changeor adjust the stitch-wheel so as to knit a longer or loose stitch, andknit the leg portion gin this manner, after which the stocking may becast from the machine, and will appear in side elevation, as shown inFig. 1. e now severthe stitches along a line just below the line e andunite the lower or forward edge h of the heelpiece cl to the rear edge1' of the sole portion of the foot, which edge i was formed by severinga portion of the stitches, as before described, and which will beclearly understood by an inspection of Fig. 2 of the drawings. If thetoe and heel portions were picked upon the needles along a course formedat some distance from the edge, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, we ravel offsuch projecting edges to the lines b or e, and thus complete thestocking, which will appear as shown in Fig. 3. In this way we areenabled to produce astocking shaped to fit the foot and leg of thewearer, make the same expeditiously and economically and so as to bepractically seamless, and form the toe and heelportions, which are usuisa side ally subjected to the greatest amount of wear, of greaterstrength than the other or remaining portions.

It is obvious that the steps or acts recited may be taken in anorder-somewhat different from that n1entioned-as, for example, theknitting may be begun by commencing at the top of the stocking with acomparatively loose or long stitch and knitting the lower-leg and footportion in a comparatively close or short stitclnforming the toe portionin any suitable way; but these and other formal Variations may bepracticed without departing from the nature or spirit of ourimprovements.

\Ve are aware of the patent to \V. E. Sheehan,l\ o. 337,706. Vi'etherefore do not claim, broadly, uniting" separately-formed heel and toepieces to a circular web; but

\Vhat we claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent of the UnitedStates, is'

1. The improvement in the artof knitting stockings 0n circularspring-beard-needle knitting-machines, which consists in knitting thefoot to the upper line of the heel with the stitch-wheel set to knit. aclose stitch, then picking on a heel formed of an independent web, thenforming the ankle, then setting the stitch-wheel to term a loose stitchand so finishing the leg, then cutting into the web direetly below theupper line of the heel, and [inally uniting the free edge of the heel tothe edge of the cut web, all in the manner set forth and described.

The improvement in the art of knitting," stockings on circularspring-beard-needle knitting-machines, consisting in picking upon theneedles a previously-formed seamless and fashioned toe-piece, thenknitting the foot to the upper line of the heel with the stitchwheel setto knit a close stitch, then picking on a previously-formed seamless andfashioned heel-piece, then kn itting the ankle, then finishing" the legwith the stitch-wheel set to knit a loose stitch, then cutting into theweb to form an edge, and finally uniting the free edge of the heel tothe cut edge of the web of the stocking, substantially as described.

'In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 3d day of March, A. l).i890.

EDGAR C. COVELL ELISIIA S. CRAM. Witnesses:

FRED P. I lockms, PETER ABBOTT.

